Dave Manington

Bassist and composer Dave Manington is one of the mainstays of the London jazz scene, a founder member of the Loop Collective, he has played with many of the pre-eminent jazz musicians in the UK and Europe including Julian Arguelles, Marius Neset, Gwilym Simcock, Mark Lockheart, Tim Garland, Iain Ballamy, Gwyneth Herbert, Michael Garrick, Pete Wareham, Pete King, Martin Speake, Alan Barnes, Tim Whitehead, Salena Jones, Roberto Pla, Tina May, Natacha Atlas, Martin Shaw and John Etheridge amongst many others. He's also in demand for a broad range of different ensembles, playing with musicians from everywhere from South America to the Balkans, but the musicians he is most passionate about playing with are his contemporaries, many of whom he has worked with since moving to London to study at the Guildhall. Many collaborations and projects have been spawned from these connections. It was with the most like-minded of these people that he founded the Loop Collective eight years ago, in order to pool creative resources and promote their music more effectively.

His debut quartet album "Headrush" was released on Loop Records in 2008 to critical acclaim. He followed this up with the 2013 Riff Raff album release “Hullabaloo” which was described as “Inventive, forward looking jazz that subtly pushes the envelope whilst remaining thoroughly accessible to the listener.” The Jazzmann Jan 2013. He is also a founder member of the much respected e17 jazz collective and is currently writing new music for the e17 Large Ensemble.

The starting point for the music is collective improvisation but compositionally it draws on as wide a range of styles as possible. Folk, electronic music and contemporary classical influences are added to the mix with complex jazz harmonies and rhythms and the music has been developed through countless gigs and rehearsals giving Riff Raff a genuinely unified sound. The band also benefits from the fact that Dave, Rob and Tim have been playing together as a rhythm section for other 20 years since starting out in school bands together and have developed a telepathic understanding. Several of the compositions from Hullabaloo feature fantastic lyrics from Brigitte Beraha and on other tracks she sings wordless vocals, often harmonizing with the sax line to great effect.

Dave has also accumulated extensive studio experience recording albums and sessions as a sideman for jazz, pop and singer-songwriters, as well as appearing on film and TV sessions. Dave's music has recently been heard on Radio 3 as well as several European jazz radio programs, internet radio stations and on television. He's played all around the world and appeared in many major international festivals including Algeria, Italy, Poland, Greece, Ukraine, Norway, Lithuania and England over the last couple of years He was also nominated for a Worshipful Company of Musicians jazz medal award in 2006. As an educator, he has taught Double Bass, Guitar and Jazz Improvisation in schools and universities for many years, regularly run workshops on Improvisation and ensemble playing, and has been invited to examine the double bass final recitals at the Guildhall School of Music.